Northern Noise

 One thing I love about Facebook is "Facebook Memories."  Today's memory showed Bob shoveling a crap ton (yes that's a technical measurement) of snow while the Water Wagon truck was stuck on our road. Caption mentioned 24" of fresh snow..... wow.   Today I had the front door open all day.  It was about 58 degrees, and sunny and not much wind and an absolutely beautiful day in NoGa.    I've always lived in Alaska (brief stints someplace else don't really count) and I'm still adjusting to life down here.  It's definitely different.  When I went to Oregon in January, I just felt more free to be me.  I can't really pin it down.  Maybe that I didn't feel self-conscious going out as a scrub, in flannels and even pajama bottoms and 2 day old hair? Maybe that there were more dirty cars, Carhartts and cracked windshields?  Maybe that there was a more laid back aura that didn't seem as dependent on material goods and appearances?  I...

 When I majored in English in college, I chose to focus on writing, not literature.  After my first class, I faithfully wrote for at least 15 minutes a day and I continued that practice for many, many, years. Once life happened, and I got busy with teaching, I wrote much less consistently.  I kept a journal off and on, I felt inspired to the occasional short story, essay or (bad) poetry.   So I am going on year 3 of retirement and it's time for me to start living the life I want.  It's way too easy to just let the days go by without really being productive.  So there are some things I need to put more energy and commitment into.  1.  Less mindless phone, more reading.  And not just online - although I love the Atlantic. Reading at bedtime instead of Faceback is an easy practice to embrace. I'd love to be able to talk to Bob about the things I'm reading; new ideas to bring to the table instead of same ol'. 2.  I need to start writing...

 I wrote my last blogpost in April - fresh into retirement, about to head south, and convinced I'd be a regular contributor to my own blog.  Yeah - not so much.  But here it is, April. What's new?  I absolutely love being in Georgia, my house in Georgia, and spending winter in Georgia. I absolutely did not miss Fairbanks cold winter and snow. Not at all. I was able to walk the dog without adding 15 lbs of clothing, and boots, and hats and gloves and girding the loins to handle the frigid air that freezes one's face.  I like being retired. The Fairbanks School District appears to be in the middle of a massive shit storm and I'm glad I'm not there. I miss my friends and the really good people that I knew in the district. Good people do not a good system make, when the system is determined to be dysfunctional. I totally do not mind spending 24-7 with my husband.  We drive each other just crazy enough, but really do make a good team.  I'm currently in Rock...

I love my little house in Fairbanks.  It's not fancy, it's an awesome location, and its where we raised our family for the last 20 years.  But even I have to admit that a winter out here in the hills can feel long.  Last year there were a few times Bob had to plow with the 4 wheeler 3x in 2 days. So spending the winter in Georgia not only gives us a bit of break, and gives us a new adventure, it also puts us close to Bob's mom.  It's a win-win-win.  So at this time next week, I'll be sitting in my little house in Blairsville, Georgia. It's not fancy, it's in an awesome location, and with a few improvements it's going to be lovely. It will (eventually) have more space, closets, and a family room/ tv room which are all things I'm excited about and our Fairbanks house doesn't have. What I'll need to adjust to is living in rural Georgia.  Things I already have realized - There is no package liquor store in Union County; there is moonshine for pur...

Well, it's official.  I'm done with the public education game, at least here in Fairbanks.  You might say that I graduated, and finally get to leave school.  I knew it was time when my filter stopped working as effectively.  I told Bob that I never back down from a fight for the right things, but I've lost patience fighting stupid. So far my retirement accomplishments include finishing reading a third novel, removing social media and email from my phone, a haircut, some meet ups with friends, and plenty of naps. Bob tells me it's okay to feel weary as I leave working life behind.  And apparently I'm supposed to listen to him because he's been retired a longer while and is the expert. Hmm. 

I try to make sense of the world.  And dammit it's hard to do.  1) The office of POTUS is no longer something to be admired, or aspirational, or model of how to be the best of our world.  2) It's September 14 and it's way too warm and I've got the windows and doors open and the dogs are running in and out as if its summer. 3) My truest love is being a good and responsible son and papa and visiting his mom and then his dad, taking our youngest with him. I don't like it when he's gone. 4) I'm 50 years old and I still don't have it figured out. Oh well.  There's always bourbon.

How does one make sense of the world?  Donald Trump is president of the US.  Perhaps more shocking, the president of the US tweets inflammatory, derogatory, un-presidential rants.  The president of the US attends the Conservative PAC conference alongside openly white supremacist hate-mongers. The president of the US attacks the free press, denigrates women, appoints anti- public education advocates to lead the Dept. of Ed and an Interior Secretary who works to decimate national park lands.   Depending on your definition, there have been 7 school shootings since January 1 that have resulted in death. ( How Many School Shootings in 2018? )   Today, Vladamir Putin shared that Russia is developing new nuclear weapons to combat the USA.    I'm not sure I can make sense of all this. 

I've run into a couple of folks the past few days that I haven't seen for awhile.  Both asked me the same question, "Did you do something different with you hair?"  It made me smile because I haven't done anything different with my hair.  Been the same for a long while. I have lost 35 lbs.  Maybe that's what's different.

When it come to really scary, no one does it like Stephen King.  His books have caused me to sleep with a light on, pulling my toes in so they don't go off the edge of the bed.  Even his "non-scary" books are scary, often through examination of human nature, but also with the way he makes normal people experience paranormal events.  But, since this post is about the categories of horror in my collection, I'll share the four  Stephen King movies I own which most folks would count as "scary." Stephen King Movies: Pet Sematary .  Classic cautionary tale of letting the dead be dead. Especially if it includes an ancient Indian burial ground. The Mist.  The humans are the scariest, but, like it's predecessor The Fog , not being able to see what's out there is  horrifying.  This one isn't as scary the second time around, which I think weakens it's status as a classic. IT .  This is one of the most terrifying books out there, and Pennywise th...

October is scary movie month at our house.  It has been since Aileen hit about 13 years old, and we like being scared.  Over time we've gotten a pretty decent collection of what I see as classic horror movies.  Recently a friend asked me if we had a method to watching them - chronology, based on true story, zombie, etc.  It made me think about the types of movies we have and why.  So here's a first attempt at making sense of them. The Classics: Damien - The original demon child When we started watching movies, part of what I was doing was helping build Ali's cultural literacy.  (Like the summer I made her watch all the John Hughes movies, but with more death).  I think we started with the original Psycho ,  followed by The Omen with Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.  Like The Exorcist , which we've seen but don't own, these have cultural references everyone should know.  They're also pretty darn scary in their own ways.  Georg...

It's fall time.  Although the temperature is oddly warm outside, the leaves are yellow and covering the drive way.  When we went for a walk this morning I could smell the highbush cranberries.  Soon, probably tomorrow, we'll put away the swing on the deck.  We'll mow the lawn a final time to chop up the leaves and then drain the lawnmower before stashing it in the greenhouse.  I'll make the boy shovel out the dog pen again before the snow flies.  It will be time for Jed to try on boots and coats and make sure they fit. I like fall.

School has begun and my boy is in 6th grade.  He's in his final year of elementary school, which is a little strange to think about.  Bob is in his final year of education, at least formally.  He turned in his retirement papers with his final day being February 20.  Hannah is getting married, so it's her final year of being single.  Aileen has moved into a dry cabin, so its her final year of... hmm, cleanliness? I hope its a good year for everyone.

So its August, which means back to school.  For me, in this job, that means books and courses, professional development and planning.  For Bob it's busy, busy, busy. For the kids its the fair, supplies, and new shoes. Today is a Saturday and I'm hanging out enjoying sunshine and browsing online between doing chores. I am doing chores, really. Maybe not as many as I should, but its a start.

I'm at the Coast again, and more relaxed than I have been in ages and ages.  3 days of romantic getaways with my husband, sun and sand, good food and wine.... ahhhhh.  Today I'm kicking back with my ma and the dog while the boys run around doing boy stuff. I'm also spending some time online looking for a doctorate in education program that I could do online. Am I crazy?  Perhaps I am....

In the past 4 years I've finished two masters degrees, started a new job, and got my principal certification.  Just the other day I got my diploma in the mail, so I guess its official.  Spent the weekend with an eerie feeling that I was forgetting something, but realized it's just that there's no homework hanging over my head.  Kinda strange. So the question now is, what to do next?  Do I just take it easy and concentrate on doing my job and hanging with the fam? Those aren't bad things, and they sound really nice right now, actually.  The thing is, if I'm not moving I'm just standing still and I don't know that's my style.  Even when I was teaching, I was always mixing it up.  Taking on new classes, writing pilot courses, starting a 9th grade team, being department head, working on curriculum - every year it seemed like there was a new professional challenge.  The plus side was that I love trying to do new things and improve; the down side was ...

In college, I majored in writing.  Not in literature, or general English, but writing. I liked writing "creative non-fiction," whatever that means.   The fiction I wrote was always based on reality.  I tried my hand at poetry, which I wrote with enthusiasm and little skill.  What was most important for me was the process, the practice of writing. Back in those days, I didn't have a computer.  I wrote by hand, in notebooks that varied from journals with fancy covers to spirals and 3 rings.  The process of editing and revisions was crossing things out, a therapeutic action, and drawing arrows from transition to transition.  When I first started "word processing" my writing, I saved it all on floppy disks, printing on these dot matrix things that made such noise and scrolled forward with perforated edges (what Urban Dictionary calls "kadoobies").  I remember writing workshops in college -  the good, bad and ugly.  Once an instructor accus...

If I didn't have a fear of heights, I'd build a treehouse for an escape, my own "she cave."  If I didn't have a fear of heights.

I'm sitting here at the house on the beach.  I love the fact that I can come here and be totally relaxed and feel totally at home. My mom is all I have left.  My father has passed, all my grandparents are dead, there's just her.  Her dream for as long as I can remember was to live on the Oregon Coast when she retired.  The fact that I got to be part of helping her get here is really important to me. And I feel invested in this place.  When she first moved in I convinced her to buy these "low profile" stools from Fred Meyers, and now they're where all the boys sit when they're here.  My sister and I got her pictures hung, all the Rie Munoz she'd been saving since Kenai.  Last summer we found her a small hutch for the silver and such from my Gram, and my sister and I created a family picture wall.  Bob got her a good LED flashlight so she doesn't surprise any raccoons when she's walking sweetie at night.  I know my way around (pretty much) ...

Okay, I admit it.  I made my son go to Art Camp.  For 4 whole days.  (Well, actually 3 1/2 because I left town and his dad let him skip.)  I'm a bad mom. My son has never shown a particular affinity for arts and crafts.  He's always hated drawing, cutting, and coloring.  But I've read Mindset , and I know that it's good for brains to try new things and new ways of thinking.  He's never really tried anything like art camp, and it was only four days, so how bad could it be? Apparently the answer is bad.  Really bad. The first day I picked him up and he refused to speak to me for an hour.  When he did speak he said, "I'm not saying you're moronic, but this idea for me to take art camp sure was."  Didn't make me too happy. He sees no point to 3D sculpture.  At least the bird sculptures made sense to him.  And the art teachers are "crazy" and it's only girls and little kids. And they go on walks that are either too short or...

I'm feeling the urge to change.  Change what? Not sure yet, but change something.  Change my hair, change my clothes, change my job, change my house, change my attitude, change my reading habits, change my eating habits, change my plan, change ????? What do you do when your primal self is calling out for a change but reality says that many of the big things in life are 1) pretty good already, and 2) needed for a responsible family life??